GRMFBS CH49

Zhan Yan did not feel any agony over this tracking failure whatsoever. After combing through the Garbled Anomalies too much, the worst side effect he suffered was simply an inability to flip through new gossip logs for the rest of the day, leaving the Gossip System’s search bar temporarily locked.

The only pity was that he had no idea when he would be able to catch Garbled Anomaly No. 2 manifesting in the flesh again.

However, he had vaguely noticed something off within the fly’s gossip logs this time. Earlier, he had been too occupied with broadcasting real-time updates to examine them closely. Now that the sweep had failed, he planned to comb through those logs again once he was free to see what had struck him as odd.

This pursuit had dragged on for quite some time, and he was still slumped over a desk in the specialized lecture hall.

Logging out of the chaofan forum, Zhan Yan opened his eyes.

A jacket was draped over his shoulders, and Gu Jiancheng was seated right beside him. His phone indicated he had been resting his head on the desk for over two hours. Throughout that entire time, no one had disturbed him—not even by an accidental brush.

This position left him feeling somewhat sore, but Zhan Yan soon realized the soreness was very real. Carefully rolling his neck and shoulders, he froze halfway through, sucking in a sharp breath as he muttered under his breath, “Sleeping face-down on a classroom desk is truly a terrible idea…”

Gu Jiancheng placed a hand on his neck and shoulders, stroking them gently a few times, and swiftly deduced which side was stiff from the crook.

“Don’t move,” he murmured softly, applying pressure with his hands.

His thumb pressed deep into the muscle, gliding slowly from the side of the neck down to the shoulder. A wave of sharp, soothing ache washed over Zhan Yan, nearly coaxing a groan from his throat.

Pinpointing the knotted areas, Gu Jiancheng used a few precise kneads to disperse the tense muscles, then eased his strength to massage the area with lighter strokes.

These motions were pure bittersweet agony, and Zhan Yan couldn’t help letting out a satisfied hum: “Right there! Right there! Press a few more times!”

Gu Jiancheng stroked along the grain of the muscles several times more.

“Try moving it?”

Zhan Yan tilted his head forward, backward, left, and right, entirely thrilled: “All better!”

Sitting in his chair, he looked up at Gu Jiancheng: “Incredible! How did you learn this? You’re amazing!”

Gu Jiancheng looked at his sparkling eyes, brimming with barefaced eagerness and wanting more.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he placed his hands back onto Zhan Yan’s neck and shoulders.

Gu Jiancheng’s hands were warm and strong, gliding along the seam of the shoulder blades and down either side of the spine. Once the initial sting passed, only pure bliss remained; Zhan Yan narrowed his eyes in sheer delight.

“How are you so good at massaging… mmph!”

Gu Jiancheng leaned down slowly, his breath warm and low: “I specifically studied it. Massaging other places feels great too, want to try…”

A burst of clamor interrupted them.

Several classmates came up the stairs leading Pao Pao. The moment the husky returned, he melted onto the floor, his tongue lolling from his mouth, his eyes devoid of a soul.

Zhan Yan was stunned.

“What did you guys do to him?”

The other classmates coughed in embarrassment: “Nothing much, really, just took him for a walk.”

Their class had the exact same timetable as the two neighboring classes, and their departmental classrooms were right next to each other. While Zhan Yan was resting his head on the desk, this energetic bunch of students played with Pao Pao whenever they got tired of studying, or took him out for a spin whenever they felt cooped up.

And so it ended up like this.

Suddenly, both the students and the dog shivered in unison.

Pao Pao lifted his head in bewilderment, noticed nothing amiss, and with utter nonchalance went right back to sprawling on the floor and panting.

The other students looked up and saw Gu Jiancheng standing behind Zhan Yan.

Gu Jiancheng was tall, with a high nose bridge and irises noticeably larger than an ordinary person’s. When looking at people, he didn’t lower his head; he merely dropped his gaze, his eyelids drooping slightly to cast an aloof, unfathomable air over his features.

Pinned under the gaze of those pitch-black pupils, the group shrank back instinctively.

They felt an overwhelming sense of having walked in on something they shouldn’t have…

After more than ten minutes, Pao Pao was still lying on the floor with his tongue hanging out.

A cluster of veterinary medicine students began to worry, examining the dog meticulously from head to tail.

“He’s totally fine, though…” a student muttered with rising concern.

No matter how they coaxed him, Pao Pao refused to budge. Had he been run into the ground? But they hadn’t run him hard at all; it was mostly just strolling toward the end.

Zhan Yan crouched down: “We’re taking you back to your master. Are you getting up or not? If you don’t get up, you stay with us for the afternoon.”

Pao Pao scrambled to his feet instantly.

Hah! Knew this guy was faking it.

Zhan Yan brought the dog to the cafeteria entrance.

At first, Pao Pao squatted obediently, looking left and right for Professor Fang. Whenever he encountered students who fancied him, he would trot over to wag his tail and act cute.

Zhan Yan held up his phone to record a video, while Gu Jiancheng stood shoulder-to-shoulder beside him, leaning his head close so his warm breath brushed past his ear: “Do you like dogs?”

Zhan Yan paused his hand, turning his head toward Gu Jiancheng with teasing amusement dancing in his eyes.

They were standing close to begin with, and with Zhan Yan turning his head, the tips of their noses practically brushed.

“I do,” he chuckled softly.

Pao Pao suddenly flopped to the ground, whimpering softly in low, pitiful whines, looking utterly heartbroken.

Their moment broken, Zhan Yan took in Pao Pao’s theatrics and swept a glance around. Sure enough, Professor Fang was walking over.

Zhan Yan’s recording had been rolling the entire time, calmly capturing Pao Pao’s entire drama-queen performance on camera.

Professor Fang was intimately familiar with his dog’s cunning nature and asked with a laugh, “What’s gotten into him?”

Zhan Yan: “Our class took turns walking him, and he ran himself ragged.”

He pulled up the videos everyone had recorded and showed them to Professor Fang.

Professor Fang burst into boisterous laughter: “Serves you right! You finally met your match, huh?”

Pao Pao looked up at him in sheer disbelief, overcome with pure grievance.

Professor Fang: “Send me a copy of that video! Whenever you don’t have classes, just let me know—Pao Pao is all yours to walk!”

The afternoon practical lab took place along the edge of the experimental agricultural fields. Within the fields lay a lotus pond, currently in full bloom. Gu Jiancheng thought that after class wrapped up, he could take a stroll there with Zhan Yan.

Even if they couldn’t go on a date outside campus, doing so inside the school was just as good.

“Shall we…”

“Hold on a second.” Zhan Yan was checking WeChat on his phone.

The message came from Wen Yinghui, and its contents were rather important.

Even though the semester had begun, Zhan Yan, Wen Yinghui, and Matthias had remained in touch—mainly because the other two messaged him constantly.

Wen Yinghui shared his workout insights, while Matthias sent travel photos.

Wen Yinghui had contacted him this time to ask if he wanted to attend Old Master Luan’s seventieth birthday banquet.

Old Master Luan was renowned in the business sphere. Starting from nothing in his youth, he had fought tooth and nail to build an enormous business empire—a living legend. The Luan family’s enterprises were vast, with branches spread across every sector, operating on an entirely different level compared to Shoude Company. Being able to attend Old Master Luan’s birthday banquet presented a rare opportunity to expand one’s network.

For Wen Yinghui to secure an invitation and be willing to bring him along was an extraordinary favor.

However, Zhan Yan wasn’t certain whether he could make it. The Luan family’s banquet was being hosted in another city and wouldn’t take place for some time. There were no lab classes scheduled for those days, and Zhan Yan could easily request leave from the other theoretical lectures without worrying about falling behind on a session or two.

Yet with Garbled Anomaly No. 2 still unresolved, Zhan Yan didn’t feel comfortable leaving just like that. Nor was he confident the anomaly would be captured before the banquet took place.

“Can I send someone else in my place?” Zhan Yan asked. “I might not be free that day. If I can’t go, could my sister go instead?”

Wen Yinghui agreed without hesitation.

His only goal was to do Zhan Yan a favor; if Zhan Suiru went instead, Zhan Yan would still be indebted to him all the same.

Zhan Yan immediately forwarded the matter to his sister, asking if she had time to go.

Zhan Suiru hadn’t replied yet, likely tied up with something.

Gu Jiancheng waited for Zhan Yan to finish sending his messages: “Let’s go stroll around the lotus pond.”

A few little birds fluttered past, chirping noisily: “It’s gonna rain!” “Hurry, take cover, take cover!”

Zhan Yan hesitated: “I think it might be about to rain.”

The moment the words left his mouth, a bolt of lightning ripped across the distant horizon.

Crash…

Gu Jiancheng: …

Infuriating!

“Let’s head back to the dorm,” Zhan Yan said.

Dark, wet speckles splattered across the pavement, covering the ground in the blink of an eye.

A few scattered drops escalated into a torrential downpour in mere moments. Neither of them had brought an umbrella, so they sprinted back toward the dormitory. Passing the lotus pond, the lotus leaves swayed in the gusting wind as the fragrance of blossoms hung thick in the air. The rain under the late-summer heat was warm, beating heavily against their bodies.

By the time they dashed past the lotus pond, their dry clothes were clinging damply to their skin.

Fortunately, their dormitory had been constructed recently and was equipped with a private en-suite bathroom.

Duan Hong was studying in the library, and Bao Qingshan had left campus right after class, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Zhan Yan took a shower first. While Gu Jiancheng was washing up, he logged into the chaofan forum. He hadn’t finished his conversation with Administrator Lingyu earlier, but being in the department classroom had made it inconvenient, so he had cut the communication short.

Having been hung up on abruptly, Nie Yu was initially rendered half-dead with indignation by that phrase: “Can I trade them for points instead?” Then, she realized something was amiss.

Approaching Science had terminated the communication far too quickly. Based on past habits, Approaching Science would never log off before having every single point calculated down to the decimal.

For someone so obsessive over points, why would he suddenly end the conversation prematurely?

There was only one plausible explanation! Approaching Science had overexerted himself during the preceding real-time tracking session—perhaps even suffering psychic trauma—to the point where he no longer had the mental fortitude to continue communicating!

Honestly! After pushing himself to such an agonizing extent, he still had to put on a brave front!

Which was more important, his physical well-being or his pride?!

“It might not necessarily be about pride,” Ning Xi murmured thoughtfully. “Him concealing his condition like this could be born from insecurity.”

Did he fear others viewing him as weak? Approaching Science was a wild, self-taught genius who lacked a proper grasp of an information-type supernatural user’s true vulnerabilities. Being wary and cautious toward the supernatural realm, he constantly masked his real identity, hiding his weakness and discomfort.

They had treated him with utmost friendliness, yet Approaching Science remained on guard; did this indicate he had been burned in the past by placing his trust in the wrong hands?

“It could also simply be that he genuinely lacks points,” Ji Yueming pointed out. “Did he ever give a reason for wanting my Lightning Talisman?”

Nie Yu: “Apparently, he just thinks lightning is cool.”

Ji Yueming shook her head, finding that reasoning utterly unbelievable.

Pondering for a moment, she said, “Ask him again. I can gift him a defensive-type Lightning Talisman. If he wants an offensive one, I’ll need a legitimate reason.”

Her Lightning Talismans were weapons of mass destruction. While defensive ones were acceptable, offensive ones could not be handed out lightly.

“Tell him not to hoard points so stubbornly; his own mental state is far more critical.”

Nie Yu nodded: “Understood. I’ll ask him as soon as he comes online.”

The moment Zhan Yan logged in, he spotted Administrator Lingyu’s message.

It was a lengthy paragraph that ultimately boiled down to a single point:

Tianshi was willing to gift him a defensive-type Lightning Talisman, so he should stop obsessing over saving points for it; jeopardizing his own well-being wasn’t worth it. Information pollution from anomalies was a grave matter, so he should obediently accept the mental soothing serums and meditation techniques.

The senior Tianshi is truly too wonderful!

Deeply touched, Zhan Yan expressed his heartfelt gratitude in his reply.

Nie Yu let out a proud huff. Our Captain really is that wonderful! Captain’s Lightning Talismans were priceless treasures that money couldn’t buy; over all the years they had been listed on the forum, fewer than five had ever been traded away. With this, wouldn’t he accept their aid with deep gratitude and firmly strap himself to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s war chariot?

Then, she watched as Approaching Science turned the offer down, still requesting to exchange everything for points.

Huh???

Nie Yu snapped upright.

What was going on?!

Why did he decline?

Could his desire for the Lightning Talisman be fake news? Was he not actually a fan of Tianshi after all?

Approaching Science: [I need six Lightning Talismans in total.]